National Poetry Month + May Bookish Updates!

Hello my fellow bookworms!

I hope you are all doing well. This past month was (technically still is) National Poetry Month and this upcoming month is Asian/Pacific Islander American Heritage Month! 

To celebrate poetry this month, I took part in a book circle for Joan Naviyuk Kane's most recent book of poetry, Dark Traffic. Ms. Kane is an American Inupiaq poet and novelist, whose work explores the experiences, perspectives, and identities of American Indigenous peoples. Having not been part of a book circle for a long while, I thought it was a fun, virtual experience. If you would like to have some insight on her poems, there is a video on YouTube from Poets House, which has Ms. Kane reading her poems from her various published works.

Here is some book related news and links for you to enjoy:

• If you are looking for books to read for May, try these links: PBS' list of children's books, Epic Reads' Young Adult List, and Penguin Random House's (Adult Book) List for books to celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month

• World Press Freedom Day is coming up this May 3rd! UNESCO is the leading UN agency for education and is hosting a "Journalism under Digital Siege" conference in honor of World Press Freedom Day, that you can join online (click here for more information). As UNESCO states, May 3rd "acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. Just as importantly, World Press Freedom Day is a day of support for media which are targets for the restraint, or abolition, of press freedom. It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in pursuit of a story" (UNESCO, 2022).
  

• A little late in passing on the information, but if you are currently working on either a horror/thriller or crime/mystery novel and have the first chapter already written, you can submit it for possible publication and a cash prize from Uncharted! See more details here.

• More and more institutions are banning books deemed unfit for our youth today. Institutions such as the New York Public Library (NYPL) is making it an initiative to provide copies of the banned books to all who request them - free of wait times and fines! The NYPL stands by the right to read freely, and you can too, by reading into their initiative here. 

• If you live in the Toronto area, Happily Ever After Books, a bookstore for romantics, will be popping up over the Toronto region throughout the year! If you visit, let me know how it is. Otherwise, you can visit them online, too!

•  If you are into Bram Stoker's Dracula, you can meet up with other enthusiasts at the Whitby Abbey in Whitby, England on May 25, 2022. According to CNN, everyone joining will attempt to beat the record to have the largest gathering of people dressed as vampires. Why this date? It celebrates the 125 anniversary of Dracula, of course!
  

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

I have some book-related plans coming up for the summer, but I will post about it after more details are finalized. What are your plans for this spring/summer? Are there any new books you are looking forward to or are on your To Be Read list? Let me know in the comments! :)

Happy Reading!

April Rains...New Books!

Hello my fellow bookworms,

(c) 2022 Kristen Ciccarelli, St. Martin's Publishing Group

This past month has gone by too fast! And though the weather has been a bit crazy for me, going from warm 60 to 70 degree weather back down to the 30's with snow, there have been quite a few new books, shows, and movies coming out to keep us all occupied. 

I recently devoured the new book Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli. Wow, what a ride! This book is technically for young adults, but has older themes, along with fairies, magic, a witch, a curse, and romance. I really enjoyed reading this book, so much that I read it in under a day! It reminded me of the older fairy tales, the ones that teach a lesson and do not always end perfectly and happily (though this story has a happy ending). It was a fun, fresh breath of air for me, who has been reading schoolwork non-stop these past few months. Thank you spring break! :)

That said, I have a book of poetry that I will read before joining my school's book club session this month. We are reading Dark Traffic by Joan Naviyuk Kane. Once I dive into it, I'll be sure to mention my thoughts on the book in next month's post!

I did find some fun book links to share with you in the meantime:

• For those of you who are Jane Austen fans, particularly the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, you can now visit Jane Austen's Home and get an up close viewing of Mr. Darcy's white shirt from the lake scene (you know the one!). There will be other pieces of clothing from Austen movies, as well. The exhibit, titled Jane Austen Undressed, will run until October 2, 2022. If you end up going, please share pictures of your visit! If you cannot make the in-person exhibit, they do offer a virtual online version of the exhibition to enjoy from home!

• Though this is technically not a book link, if you are feeling in need of a good scare, there is a YouTube channel that is currently posting free horror movies for your viewing. There are new movies uploaded weekly.
  

• If you have been following the Netflix series Bridgerton, you can celebrate your viewing with some tea inspired by the book series/show from Republic of Tea! They even have the books that inspired both season available for sale. 
  

• If you are interested in writing romance, Harlequin is offering scholarships to encourage more diverse voices in romance novels. 
  

• If you are in need of some inspiration, check out this inspiring talk about How To Let Your Light Shine Bright by Lisa Nichols, hosted by Goalcast! I was introduced to this talk, as well as quite a few other motivating videos, from my school's career center. You should also check out her books here!
  

What have you been reading lately? Let me know in the comments! 

Until next time, happy reading! :)